Speeches

Remarks by Governor Judy Martz
Montana Conference on Education Leadership
October 18, 2001

Check Against Delivery

Thank you for providing me the opportunity to join you this morning. We just returned from traveling to Sidney, which served as Montana's Capital For a Day yesterday.

As a part of that function, I visited Central School in Sidney, and was reminded once again of the incredible students we have in the state of Montana.

The quality of those students in Sidney, and the quality of students throughout Montana, obviously reflects the quality of teachers in our state, but is also due in no small part to the leadership of local school board trustees, their administrators, and their business officials.

Let me just say 'thank you'. Thank you for serving in your positions of leadership for this state and for our educational system.

Make no mistake, Montana schools do a tremendous job of providing a top notch education for our students.

The level of education of our schools is clear -- our students continue to outperform their peers from other states in standardized testing, in many cases by substantial margins.

And our students are actively recruited into the workforce, both in and outside Montana. Employers know that when they hire a person from this state, they get an individual who is committed to their job, is hard working, and has the knowledge and skills needed to move a business forward.

It's a tremendous statement about the quality of the people of Montana and the quality of our educational system.

We will do whatever we can to keep our students in this state. Through our economic development efforts, we will not continue to export our most precious natural resource, our students, out of Montana.

Working together, we will ensure the creation of good paying jobs for Montana workers, and the development of an economy that will provide the revenue necessary to maintain and improve our already world-class education system.

You provide the engine for that system as you lead and direct the education of our youth.

I want you to know that I remain firmly committed to ensuring adequate funding for our schools. There is no greater priority in state general fund spending than the support of public schools.

Did you know that over the next two years, the State will spend nearly 1 billion dollars in support of local school district budgets?

That amount translates to roughly 46 cents for every general fund dollar we spend in Montana.

Let me put this into perspective. The next highest level of spending in our state budget is for ALL of the human services programs.

Those programs make up approximately 23 cents of every dollar spent of general fund - roughly half of what we spend on K-12 education.

Specifically, over the course of the last biennium and this biennium, we have seen a number of increases in the school funding formula components.

We have seen a 6.6 percent increase in the basic entitlement component of school funding.

We have seen 9.1 percent increase in the high school per-student component.

And, we have seen a 14.5 percent increase in the elementary per-student component.

And yet, we are committed to doing more to maintain and improve the quality of our schools.

In accordance with House Bill 625, which passed during this year's legislative session, I have developed the K-12 Public School Funding Advisory Council. This council will provide recommendations to me as we work to develop a comprehensive and coordinated proposal for the next legislative session.

As you know, I have appointed to that council school leaders from among your represented organizations.

I greatly appreciate the hard work and dedication of council members including school board trustees like Geoff Feiss (Fice) and Linda Tudvedt, and distinguished administrators like Kirk Miller, John McNeil, Sandy Murie, and Rachel Villieux (Viloo)

This task force, I know, struggles with a number of difficult issues facing the state's educational funding system. Issues like the effects of declining enrollments, spending flexibility and tax system equities have no easy solutions.

However, I am fully confident that this task force will address those challenges, and bring forward valuable recommendations to help us address school funding needs in a proactive manner.

We must continue to work together to improve the well-being of our state as a whole. We must also continue to recognize that education and economic development go hand in hand.

New businesses come to the state based, in part, on a good educational system for their children. They also come seeking a well-trained, educated workforce.

And, from the economic development perspective, we are all aware of the pressing problems facing education in terms of teacher and administrator shortages, quality issues, declining enrollments, and increasing costs.

We must, however, also realize that the best long-term "fix" to the most pressing problems facing education is a strong, vibrant Montana economy.

I recognize that our state ranks 46th or 47th in the nation in teacher compensation. Our state's economy ranks 47th as well. We are all in this together and we must all work together to improve our economic situation.

My administration has begun to take strong steps in that direction, and I pledge to remain focused on education throughout my tenure as your Governor.

As mentioned before, I have established the Advisory Council on school funding, which will provide us with valuable ideas and recommendations for dealing with the pressing issues of education funding.

I have signed Senate Bill 493, which will allow the voters of Montana to approve the investment of portions of the public school trust fund in a broader range of investments. This is a prime example of a proactive effort to enhance school funding opportunities.

I have created the Governor's Office of Economic Opportunity. This office is driven toward the one key goal that will ensure our continuing ability to provide a high quality education to the students of Montana. That goal is the creation of a strong, diverse and vibrant economy in Montana with good paying jobs for all Montana citizens.

To get the ball rolling we have already begun drafting that plan, with quantifiable goals and objectives, to create the climate that will keep our citizens working and raising families in Montana.

The world is a highly competitive environment these days. I think that we would all agree that Montana is a great place to live. Our challenge is to continue to provide a top-notch education for our students.

We must collectively send a message loud and clear -- far and wide -- that Montana has a world-class educational system… and that Montana is open for business.

Congratulations on being here to lead our state's educational system - and Montana forward. Thank you for taking the interest in becoming involved with improving opportunities for our youth. We need you. I know if we all roll up our sleeves and work together, we can make this a better place for all of us.

Thank you and God bless.

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